Well by Matthew McIntosh

I first stumbled into this book when I was in the library. I don't know what caught me to this book but there is definitely something alluring in this book.

I have actually always wanted to read something that is "urban" i.e. stories that are based in the city and that revolve around city dwellers who have a hard time living in the city or who always find living in the city captivating i.e. they are always found day-dreaming. I'm glad I found all these elements in this book.

When I was reading this book, I actually found this book quite dark. The characters featured in this book are all unique, had dark thoughts all the time, and they struggled with something, either it was death (i.e. losing someone, a job, a passion or a lover), suicidal thoughts, depression & etc.

There were many characters in this book. In fact, although this book is a novel, it actually contains snippets of stories from myriad of characters. While you are absorbed into a story of one of the characters, after a break it quickly jumps into another character. It is not a very continuous flow-y sort of book but it really works. You may have a hard time following the stories but if you like this sort of experimental fiction/narrative it is quite fun at times. I did enjoy it immensely.

Mind you, I really like this book. I'm a sucker of such a melodrama Lol. The characters are very interesting. I have not in my life ever found such dark characters before. In fact, this is the darkest book that I've ever read. It's a testament.

However, at points, I did find the book disturbing. Although I had read a lot a books that revolve around depression, I still find this book the hardest to read in terms of darkness. At times, I did find that it was quite hard to delve into the thoughts of the characters. They were too haunting at times. Perhaps they were what they were because they were so close to real life. Because of this, sometimes I had to rely on listening to some atmospheric/psychedelic songs on my mp3 player to get through the dark phase!

Anyways, I really enjoyed reading this book. I kept picturing myself living in a city that is always dark i.e. the weather is always brooding, gloomy and introspective. The book really works. Thanks to the author, Matthew McIntosh for the treat. Time to return the book to the library.

P/s: I do find the cover very well-designed. It has the orange color with some grey thrown in. It is really captivating. 

I like the title too being "Well" too. According to the author, Well could represent anything. It could represent "Well" as in a well of water but in this book, the well could mean a space where we dwell all our darkest thoughts in (a well is a dark place right?). Well could also mean a state of mind. Is the state of mind well or not? It depends on your interpretation ;P

Excerpt (from the chapter, Looking Out For Your Own):

Further reading: Well [Matthew McIntosh]